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Week 5 Extra Points...and Opinions
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
By Tovash Hatcher
Can it get any crazier? If you are a Philadelphia Eagles fan, this is one of the best weeks of your life! This game turned out to be about one thing...not T.O. but T.D. (total domination). The Eagle defense turned out to be sensational against the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday. All week the local and national networks did their best in hyping this game up to be the best of the season. Do you think it turned out to be just that? While watching the game, I actually felt like I was playing in it. Exhausted at screaming at my TV!! Being a Cowboys fan I was a little angered at the outcome. Let me change that, I was FURIOUS at the outcome. The Cowboys actually looked silly on Sunday afternoon in Philadelphia. We have a receiver who is cursing after every play, a quarterback who may need laser surgery on his eyes to correct his colorblindness, and a head coach who doesn't game-plan well. But I promise I will not be one-sided when analyzing this game and others down the road. With 2 minutes to go in the first half, the Cowboys had a 4-point lead and the ball. They also had all 3 timeouts remaining. To my understanding coach Parcells wanted to go into the locker room with a lead. But why not try to build on that 4-point lead? The Cowboys had the ball with less than 3 minutes remaining in the 2nd quarter and refused to do anything with it. The Cowboys could have at least attempted to get into field goal range to try for the 3. That's what you have the self-proclaimed "most accurate field goal kicker in NFL history" for! Just throw the ball down field, use your timeouts, and kick the ball before the half. Simple formula. If you watched the game, one may argue that throwing the ball was a little tough yesterday due to the Eagles swooping in on the Cowboys' offensive line. They teed off on Bledsoe all day. The Eagles blitzed, and blitzed, and blitzed some more. A mixture of poor blocking and bad reads by Bledsoe contributed to lack of an effective passing game by Dallas. So I guess I answered my own question about the reason why the Cowboys coaching staff was not trying to score at the end of the first half. It just angered me that they were also getting the ball back at the start of the 2nd half as well.
Donovan McNabb and Terrell Owens were supposed to be the two players on the field that required the most attention. On Sunday, those two players did get a lot of attention but one player actually contributed to his team. In 1999 Donovan McNabb was welcomed by Philadelphia with a hearty chorus of boos upon being drafted by the Eagles. After throwing for 354 yards and two touchdowns against Dallas, Philly fans are ready to pronounce McNabb the mayor of Philadelphia. He put every pass where it needed to be, he led the Eagles offense to 31 points, and did it all without throwing an interception against a very tough Dallas defense. Terrell Owens didn't have a game to remember for the Cowboys. Catching just 3 balls for 45 yards, Owens caught more attention than Bledsoe passes on the sidelines. Owens threw tantrums on the Cowboy sideline like a 4-year-old boy who didn't get the toy he wanted in a happy meal. And it seemed that every FOX camera was focused on Owens. My goodness, I bet that FOX even has a camera or two in Owens' house as well. We'd probably see how many times Owens uses the restroom or how many time he gets "advice" from his in-home "publicist". Throughout the course of that game the many shots of T.O. on the sidelines started to work my nerves. But there was one time where the cameras caught Owens mouthing "Why am I here?" with his arms up in the air. That was my question as well especially after seeing Bledsoe get sacked 7 times and throwing 3 interceptions. And all this is done by an Eagles team that was supposed to be banged up??? At the end of the day, it was the quarterback and the offensive line for Dallas that took multiple punches to the mouth. On another note, Terrell Owens caught his first pass in the second half. A 25-million-dollar wide receiver should have a little more focus in the game plan you think? Some people in the city of Dallas are crying conspiracy theory. Bad game all round for Dallas and a tremendous game for the Eagles and their defense. The undefeated Chicago Bears indeed have company at the top of the NFC. I give tons of props to the Philly birds as they spanked the Cowboys 38-24. Lookout NFC, the Eagles are once again soaring above expectations. E-A-G-L-E-S Eagles!!
There were other games played on Sunday as well, and the Saints/Bucs game actually turned out to be a dandy. With Tampa Bay having to go to a backup quarterback since Chris Simms went down to that ruptured spleen, the Saints were shoe in to win right? Bruce Gradkowski, a 23-year-old rookie from holy Toledo made the most of his first NFL start. He completed 20 of 31 passes and threw for 225 yards and 2 touchdowns. The second TD pass from Gradkowski went to Alex Smith for what seemed to be the game clinching score putting the Bucs up 21-17 with under 6 minutes in the 4th. A wise woman once told me that the New Orleans Saints have been "kissed by God". I sat and thought about that comment. The Saints have a good record, a promising new head coach, a solid quarterback, and you-know-who. I think Hurricane Katrina blew in good fortunes for this New Orleans Saints team. Reggie Bush made like Hurricane Katrina on Sunday by blowing by the Tampa Bay Buccaneer players on a 65-yard punt return for his first NFL touchdown. I can go out on a limb and say that he has tons of paydirt in front of him. Bush and company outlast last the Bucs 24-21 and improve to 4-1 on the season. This Sunday the Saints host Mr. McNabb and the Eagles. This will be the second true test for the Saints which should be another good game on FOX.
Snow in October? The Denver Broncos have the weather to thank for the win on Monday night against the Baltimore Ravens. Poor Steve McNair had a Drew Bledsoe-like game by throwing 3 interceptions to the Broncos. Denver also eliminated the Ravens strength by shutting down Jamaal Lewis and allowing just 43 yards to the running back. Tatum Bell showed that the weather wasn't a problem by rushing for 92 yards on 19 tries. Jake Plummer managed the game well for the Broncos by completing 13/24 for 165 yards. He wrapped the game up by finding Rod Smith in end zone. Both teams have good football ahead of them and give some credit to the Broncos defense for keeping the Ravens' ground game at bay. They are holding all opponents to 10 points or less and have a great kicker to knock in 50-yard kicks when that offense sputters. And believe me, it's not the best offense in the world either. The Broncos have a ball control type offense and that is what wears down opposing defenses. I'm not too sure that the Broncos shaky offense can get them far, but that defense is doing a pretty good job for them in the meantime. As for the Ravens, Brian Billick shouldn't be bothered by his team's first loss of the season. The running game will be better next week, maybe. The Ravens face a tough front four in the Carolina Panthers and look Jamaal Lewis to be a little better.
I'm Tovash Hatcher.
5:35 PM
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